Public Library customers with Kobo ereader authorization issue ADE 4.0 - 4.5, "Oops! This document couldn't be opened."

Report · Feb 04, 2016

Hello Adobe support,

I work at a public library and we now have at least 8 - 12 members of the public (anecdotally more), who are unable to open Adobe DRM epub ebooks on their Kobo ereaders from our Overdrive or Freading services using Adobe Digital Editions versions between 4.0 and 4.5 and Windows 7 - 10. All of the people involved were using their Kobo with ADE successfully until just recently, and all have experienced the following set of conditions and problem:

ADE 4.0 - 4.5 is authorized with an Adobe ID.
DRM epub ebooks seem to download properly inside ADE.
The Kobo appears to be properly authorized and is connected via USB, appearing in ADE.
When the ebook is transferred to the device, it seems to work properly and no errors appear.
As soon as the customer ejects the Kobo and tries to open the ebook on the device itself the error message pops up: "Oops! This document couldn't be opened. This document is protected by Adobe Digital Rights Management (DRM) and is not currently authorized for use with your Adobe ID. Please sign-in with the authorized Adobe ID and try again."

We began receiving requests for help right with this around the week of November 8th and are continuing to receive new requests for help with this issue throughout January and as recently as today. Our primary ebook vendor has been unable to help beyond supplying the workaround of downgrading to ADE 3.0.

Most of the customers involved are using Windows 7, and Internet Explorer or an alternative browser like Firefox or Chrome - but we've had this issue occur at least once for someone using Windows 8 and twice for people with Windows 10. We also helped someone with this issue using Mac OSX 10.11. This issue has been reported mainly with Kobo Aura HD or Aura H2O, but also with Kobo Glo and Kobo Glo HD. The Kobo firmware has varied, some were using version 3.18.0 - some were using older versions. One frustrating aspect to this issue is that despite having a number of these exact devices on hand for testing, we have been unable to reproduce the issue on any of our workstations. There also doesn't seem to be a clear pattern to the titles involved.

So far, the workaround provided elsewhere on this forum and by our primary vendor has been the only way to resolve this issue for the people affected:

The customer de-authorizes the Kobo and ADE 4.0 - 4.5.
The customer uninstalls Adobe Digital Editions 4.X.
The customer installs Adobe Digital Editions 3.0.
The customer re-authorizes ADE 3.0 and the Kobo.

Does Adobe have any way to resolve this issue for customers who wish to use ADE 4.0 and up with their Kobo ereaders?

Is this issue being looked at for an upcoming build or are there any details that we could provide to help?

Please let me know and thanks for your consideration.

Holly

Report · Mar 29, 2021

I have a new Mac computer, Big Sur 11.2.3. I can sign in to the public library and borrow books.

I cannot open the last four ePub books from the public library in my eReader

ADE 4.5 is installed on the computer and I am successfully signed in to my account.

My Kobo Clara reading device is authourized and I can download books from ADE to it.

I spent four hours on the phone with Kobo. ADE handles all the books in the world and if the Public Library runs out of available licenses the books are downloaded without them and cannot be opened in the reader. I have been abble to read some on my browser but not in the Kobo Clara. I have just applied to the public library for more help.

Report · Oct 14, 2021

Unbelieveable! Five years after the first post, this is still an issue! I'm extremely frustrated.

Most of the time my Kobo Aura 2 will sync and download the library books automatically. However some books just will not download and then I go through this frustrating exercise with ADE. I have exactly 1 Adobe account and the kobo and computer are both authorized with the only Adobe account. On the computer screen, I can see the book I want and I can read it on the computer screen. Within ADE 4.5, I can see the kobo and I can transfer the book to the kobo and then click on kobo to see that the book has transferred. However, when I disconnect the computer, the kobo claims it is downloading the book but I can't open it since the kobo isn't "authorized". I've deauthorized it and reauthorized it. Same on the computer.

After FIVE years can we please get this problem fixed.

Thank you!

Report · Oct 19, 2021

this is really frustrating! - spent 2 days on this problem trying installing, reinstalling, deauthorizing, reauthorizing, tried different books, etc... I have 2 different Kobo readers, same issue with both.

Report · Dec 12, 2021

I have had the same problem for yeats with my kobo, and also my mother's Kobo. So much so that I bought another one (did not work). Here are the 2 workaround that seam to work for us :

1. download one or two extra books sometimes works.
2. download an extra book from another library usually unlocks the books from both libraries.
This problem seams so frequent, I have difficulties understanding why the company had not find a fix for it. I can't wait for another company to provide a better program.

Report · Jan 16, 2022

Dear Holly,

Thank you for your detailed description of this issue which exactly mirrors my experience with a Mac OS 10.15.7 and a Kobo H2O: i.e. it worked fine for my first two library books then repeatedly failed despite my doing a "Factory reset" on the Kobo, changing my ADE password and reinstalling ADE. What I haven't yet tried is your advice to install the earlier version of ADE so I will give that a go!

Report · Jan 17, 2022

Hi,

I have been fighting with same problem with my mac and kobo clara hd, as I mentioned in a previous post. Although I am managing to download books from the Danish public library without any problem by copying the epub file to my desktop before upload to the ADE. I tried the same epub uploaded directly from download folder and I get the message error. It seems random and I don't have a technical explanation for it, but it is working for me. So my suggestion is that you try the following steps:

1 - download the epub from public library;

2 - move the file from dowload folder to desktop;

3 - upload the file to ADE;

4 - transfer it to your kobo.

I hope this will help at least some of you.

Report · Sep 14, 2022

I have had this problem for the past 6 months and followed the deauthorize / authorize routine multiple times until for some unknown reason, it seemed to work. No more. I have had two conversations with Kobo support. The last one they suggested installing ADE 3.0. However, I have a Mac mini and the message when I attempted to download it was that the app needed to be updated by the author... ie ADE 3.0 is not supported on my Mac mini. I bought the mac mini specificly to download ebooks, after my laptop died. SHould have spent my money on a kindle. :(. Do you hear me KOBO?

Report · Sep 14, 2022

Try downloading another title first that is not protected by the library -
like a Dickens classic or I have used the title "Cloudy Jewel" (disgusting
juvenile book by the way). When it's accepted, you may then find your
choice is too.

I have also re-set my reader, but that erases everything in your current
use, so is not likely a reasonable approach. I really don't know why it's
so hard for them to get a working system, except they don't care if we're
not BUYING the books. I wouldn't ever be buying or recommending KOBO after
my last few years with this pig.

Report · Jan 17, 2022

Hi,

I have been fighting with same problem with my mac and kobo clara hd, as I mentioned in a previous post. Although I am managing to download books from the Danish public library without any problem by copying the epub file to my desktop before upload to the ADE. I tried the same epub uploaded directly from download folder and I get the message error. It seems random and I don't have a technical explanation for it, but it is working for me. So my suggestion is that you try the following steps:

1 - download the epub from public library;

2 - move the file from dowload folder to desktop;

3 - upload the file to ADE;

4 - transfer it to your kobo.

I hope this will help at least some of you.

Report · Jan 17, 2022

Hi
Thanks for your post offering a glimmer of hope! Unfortunately having tried
this method on my Mac I still get the message: "Your eReader is not
authorised to open this book".

--
Kind regards

David

Report · Jan 18, 2022

Hi David,

I am so sorry it didn't work. But again, it looks like a random thing, I hope it will keeps working for me. I still think kobo and adobe should work together on a solution for this. I choose kobo over kindle because of the possibility of using public library epubs. If it doesn't work I think kobo can loose part of its market.

Report · Jan 18, 2022

Hi Renata,

I do hope your luck holds out! I chose Kobo for the same reason, as well as
reluctance to support Amazon's market lead. I also concur with your
last remark. You would think it was worth Kobo's while to fix this.

Ironically this introduction to Libby showed me that my smartphone lets me
read borrowed books directly so I could have saved the money I spent on the
Kobo, had I but known!

--
Kind regards

David

Report · Jul 20, 2022

So I see the thread started in 2016... and here it is 2022.5 and I'm having the same issues with my Clara HD. I am tired of Kobo support chat, deinstalling, reinstalling, authorizing, reauthorizing etc etc etc only to get the same problem over and over. As I commented previously, Adobe's effort at protecting rights is completely effective as no one can access the material. I whacked at this issue for several hours today, got nowhere. Perhaps on another day I will summon up the stuff to try again. I do not care! about installing across devices, I only want the book on my Clara. Will someone at Adobe please fix ADE.

Report · Jul 20, 2022

My experience is like yours. For the past couple of months, the downloads
have worked, but that's as rare as hens' teeth.

It remains that to do this most of the time, I have to factory reset,
unauthorize and reauthorize, and maybe it will work.

For some odd reason, I have had success downloading a book at random, then
successfully downloading the desired one, but that's illogical, and it only
works maybe one of 4 times.

Whether it's Adobe or KOBO, I don't know, but my suspicion is Adobe.
They're always forcing their software on me, but I usually find
alternatives. Highly dislike the company and their marketing strategy.

Report · Jul 21, 2022

Hi,

it is really crazy that the problem persists since 2016.

From my experience I have figured out that a few books from public library are unlocked and can unlock the other books when downloaded at the same time to kobo.

That has been my workaround the problem - everytime I need to download a new book I download it together with one of these "unlocked" books. Still, very annoying.

I am not sure who can solve the problem, if kobo or ADE, maybe they need to work together to solve this isssue.

Report · Jul 21, 2022

That's interesting. It would explain my hit and miss success with
downloading another book. But I wonder how to identify and "unlocked
library book". I suppose if I could remember which ones worked, I could
use that one each time.

Thanks.
Jack Hadley

Report · Jul 21, 2022

That's the strategy I am using 😃 I always use the same "unlocked" ebook and with it I unlock every other ebook I want to read.

Other option is to downgrade ADE to ADE 3.0. Unfortunatelly for mac users, you can't use the 3.0 version anymore.

Report · Jul 21, 2022

Thanks.

Report · Jul 22, 2022

Thanks for your reply! I've taken a different track... Got a new cell recently, and I decided to try the Libby app on it. This works neatly, no muss no fuss, and I'm done with my Kobo.

- Jeff

Report · Jul 22, 2022

Hi Jeffrey, what do you mean by cell? Also an e-reader? I have Libby app on my phone but the reading experience is much improved in the ereader. That is why I am wondering if you found any device that allow the Libby app.

Report · Jul 22, 2022

Jeff,

Good for you, but I'm not interested in buying another e-reader. It's
either this, or go to my grave with paper. I'm 79, and counting down. If
I did buy, it would not be KOBO.

Jack

Report · Jul 22, 2022

Jack -- "Cell" refers to the cell phone device. I'd gotten the Clara some time ago, and the phone I was using then had a smallish screen and was not a good reader. This new one is. I liked the Kobo experience - until ADE came along. And, I'm glad I tried Libby, it's great. The phone is android by the way, not an "I" thingee

Cheers,

Jeff

Report · Jul 22, 2022

Forgot to mention, I'm 73, not far behind ya

Report · Jul 22, 2022

Yes Jeff,

I know what a cell is and I have a Samsung Galaxy. But I really like a
bigger screen presentation, and the flexibility when it's working. Thanks
for the input.

J

Report · Jul 22, 2022

It's an expense but there are tablets that will run apps like Libby